Sailing yachts of greater than minimal size typically utilize one or more winches to assist in handling of the running rigging. The running rigging normally consists of lines, which are used for hoisting the sails (halyards), and also for trimming the sails (sheets). On larger yachts, the forces required for operating the sheets and halyards can become too great for ordinary manual handling, requiring the use of winches to achieve mechanical advantage. A typical simple winch includes a rotatable capstan or drum about which a line is wound. The “tail” of the line, on the downstream side of the winch drum, is maintained under tension, either manually or by a self-tailing mechanism, so that friction of the line on the surface of the winch drum enables the line to be drawn in with considerable force. In the larger yachts, it is common to utilize multiple speed winches and/or power driven winches for handling of the sheets and halyards under heavy loads.
With a winch of typical design, the line is wrapped multiple times around the exterior of the winch drum and, as the line is drawn in by manual or powered rotation of the drum, the tail of the line, exiting from the downstream side of the winch, tends to collect haphazardly on the deck or cockpit floor. Once hoisting or trimming operations are completed, the line typically is secured on the downstream side of the winch, by means of a cleat and/or self-tailing jaws of the winch. The leftover tail can then be gathered and collected into a neater coil.
Particularly for sheets, used in trimming the jib, main sail and other sails of a yacht, adjustment of the sail trim, either by letting a sheet out or winching it in, is performed with considerable frequency, to compensate for variations in the force and direction of the winds, changes in the course of the yacht, etc. Thus, handling, coiling and re-coiling of lines is a continuing activity, which can be somewhat tedious and, especially with larger yachts, can involve a considerable element of risk because of the very large forces acting on the lines. For example, the actions involved in simply easing a jib sheet include initially releasing the line from a cleat and/or self-tailing jaws of the winch, perhaps taking one or two wraps of line off of the winch drum, and then manually allowing the line to slip on the winch drum until a desired amount of line has been released. Thereafter, any wraps removed from the winch are rewound and the line re-secured in the self-tailing jaws and/or cleat. Because jib sheets can be under very significant tension loads, if these operations are not carefully performed there is an ever present possibility of serious injury to crew members. If too many wraps are removed, or a crew member becomes careless, a line can escape and run rapidly through the crew member's hands. Serious burns can result. This is true each time a line is handled, whether in easing or trimming jib sheets. Also, when using conventional winches, the “tails” of the lines, initially at least, collect loosely in the cockpit, enabling lines to be easily confused and/or tangled.